


What Were the Chances

by Shalheira



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games), Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Action/Adventure, M/M, Manipulation, Romance, Royalty, Yaoi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-31
Updated: 2015-12-30
Packaged: 2018-03-04 12:20:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3067637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shalheira/pseuds/Shalheira
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sonic is the prince of the country of Vertrose. Him and his friends meet and hang out on Mobius and during this time he has developed feelings for a certain black and red hedgehog. Before he can confess his feelings he gets engaged to a prince of another country. Unknown to him, that prince is closer than he thinks.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: This is my first Sonic story so please review and let me know what you think
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't not own Sonic or any of the characters

**Prologue**

The world that Sonic and friends live on is divided into seven continents or countries. When looking at a map, three countries line the left side and three countries line the right side. In the middle of the counties lies a neutral country called Mobius. Each country holds one chaos emerald, which is that countries energy source.

Countries on the left:  
1) Highdale- A country that is currently ruled by Queen Blaze and specializes in fire, consisting of little wildlife. (Purple emerald)  
2) Vertrose- A country ruled by Queen Adella and her son Prince Sonic. The country consists of many wind currents and is known for their high winded environment. (Dark blue emerald)  
3)Valbridge- Ruled by King Dynos and his son Prince Silver. The country is widely know for their mediation techniques and telekinesis. (White emerald)

Countries on the right:  
1)Aldiron- A country of Darkness that consists of little light and is ruled by King Black Doom. (Red emerald)  
2)Normount- Ruled solely by King Knuckles after the near destruction of the entire race. (Green emerald)  
3)Orcrest- Ruled by King Adkin and his daughter Princess Amy. The country consists of mostly water and water creatures. (Yellow emerald)

Mobius- Neutral country that currently has no ruler (Light blue emerald)

* * *

Running through the halls of the castle Sonic had a very important destination in mind. Zig zagging passed servants who were going about their daily business and coming very close to running a few people over. Luckily with his fast reflexes, he was able to turn at the last second. Remembering how hard it was the last time to get passed the front gates, Sonic decided he was going to try to jump the wall instead.

Jumping out a window on the first floor Sonic ran through the garden, startling a few of the gardeners in the process, and headed straight for the wall. About ten meters before the wall Sonic planted both feet on the ground and pushed off. With his speed and strength Sonic easily made it over, landing on the other side and once again taking off.

Meanwhile back at the castle, Sonic's personal attendant, tutor and adviser walked into Sonic's bed chambers only to find it empty. Clenching his fists in frustration, Dante turned around and walked out of the room, marched down the hall, and headed straight to the Queen.

"Your Majesty!" Dante said after opening the doors to the throne room. He kneeled before the Queen before continuing. "Prince Sonic has left the Palace again."

Queen Adella walked over to one of the many giant windows in the room. Sighing, she looked off into the direction she knew he had gone. "Let him be Dante, you can't contain his free spirit." said the Queen quietly.

* * *

Sonic ran along the shore next to ocean until he had found the boat he was looking for and jumped on. "Hey old man!" Sonic said as he knocked twice on the window to the helm of the ship.

The man in question looked up at the voice and a small smile spread across his lips. "Hey, its Sonic! Good to see you again. What can I do for you today?"

" I need a lift back to Mobius, its very important." The blue hero said as he looked at the old man with hope filled eyes.

"Yeah sure, I was just about to head out anyways."

"Thank you," Sonic said as he breathed a sigh of relief.

The boat took off no more than five minutes later, leaving the country of Vertrose behind and only open waters ahead. The trip took about 20 minutes and during that time Sonic was sure to stay in the middle of the boat, away from the water.

As soon as the boat reached the shore of Mobius, Sonic thanked the man again took off running toward a certain two-tailed fox's house. The path he ran was so familiar by now that he could run it with his eyes closed. In only a few short minutes Sonic slid to a stop in front of a wide open garage door and saw his best friend working away at one of his newest inventions.

Sonic knocked on the wall to indicate that he was there and walked over to see what his friend was working on. Tails looked up and a bright smile spread across his face when he saw Sonic approach. "Hey Sonic! I'm glad you could make it today, I know how busy you are," the young fox said.

"Of course I made it bud, I wouldn't miss today for the world," replied the blue hedgehog. "By the way," he said as he pulled out a small wrapped box and handed it to the fox, "Happy birthday." Tails took the box and opened it. His eyes lit up when he looked at it's contents. Inside were pieces of a rare mineral that were near impossible to find. This was just what tails needed to find an alternate energy source for his inventions. After all, running on batteries can be very unreliable.

"Thank you so much! How on Mobius did you get it?" Tails asked.

"Well it was hard but I was finally able to find some, sorry there's not a lot there."

"No no it great! It's just the right amount I need," Tails said as he walked over to his storage area where he can put the mineral in a safe place.

Sonic walked back over to the garage door and said, "I wonder where—"

"SONIC!" Sonic's thought was interrupted when a pink hedgehog threw herself into his arms.

"Princess Amy," he replied teasing her.

Amy crossed her arms and glared at him, "I told you to just call me Amy."

"I know I know, I'm just teasing Amy," Sonic laughed.

"Tails! Happy Birthday!" Amy said as she handed over a wrapped present.

"Well while we're at it, here's mine," said a red echidna, aka knuckles, who tossed his own wrapped gift through the air to Tails. He had just entered the garage while the others were talking. Tails thanked his friends and began opening their gifts. Amy had given him a pink notebook for his notes and knuckles had given him a new tool set since Tail's tools were old and wearing down.

"Thanks guys this is really great," Tails said with a smile. "Wait there's one more." Tails pick up a small box that was wrapped in red wrapping paper. "I wonder who it's from."

"That would be me," said a low voice that belonged to a certain black hedgehog they all knew. They all turned around and saw Shadow leaning against the frame of the garage with his arms crossed.

"Shadow you made it!" Sonic said walking over to the darker hedgehog.

"Obviously," he replied with his eyes closed.

Sonic sighed,  _would it kill him to lighten up a bit?_

Tails opened his last present and revealed a passport that would allow him to travel to any country for the next year. "Wow, this is amazing! Sonic, this means I can travel to your country and visit you whenever I want to. Thank you Shadow! I can't believe you went through so much trouble for me," Tails said smiling.

"It wasn't that much trouble," Shadow said as he waved it off.

Sonic turned to the black hedgehog and asked, "Shadow, I know you live in Aldiron but what exactly do you do there? Are you just a citizen or are you—"

"I just live there Sonic, that's all you need to know," Shadow interrupted Sonic before he could finish. He glared at the blue hedgehog, daring him to speak further.

_That was a quick answer_ , Sonic thought, glancing at Shadow curiously. Sonic and the gang have been friends with Shadow for two years now and yet they knew next to nothing about him, besides the fact that he lived in Aldiron. Over the two years that Sonic had known him, he had developed special feelings for him, but without knowing how Shadow felt, he wasn't going to say anything.

The rest of the day was spent annoying Shadow, testing Tail's new inventions and playing games they made up on the spot. By the time the sun was setting, Sonic knew he had to return home so he said a quick goodbye to Tails, promising to see him soon, and ran back shore to find the old man who he knew was going home about now.

"Hey Sonic!" The man said waving Sonic down. "I was just about to leave without you, hurry up."

Sonic smiled and hopped onto the ship just as it pushed away from shore. Sonic closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of the wind against his face. In no time the boat reached the shore of Vertrose and Sonic waved one last time to the boat captain and ran back toward the palace. He jumped over the wall separating the town and the palace and jumped onto his bedroom balcony.

He was about to get ready for to go to sleep when there was a knock on his door. "Prince Sonic, the Queen wishes to see you in the throne room."

_How does he always know when I get back?_ Sonic thought. "Coming!" He yelled as he walked back over to the door. He nodded once to Dante and ran down to the throne room, stopping right outside the door.

He was about to knock when a voiced spoke from behind the door, "Come in Sonic."

Sonic walked into the room, closing the door behind him. Walking up to the queen Sonic said, "You wished to see me mother?"

"Yes there is something important I need to announce to you," she said quietly. Silence hung heavily in the room as Sonic waited for her to continue. "There has been an engagement agreement with us and Aldiron. You are to be married to Aldiron's prince."


	2. Chapter 2

_What!?_ Sonic thought. Although, he shouldn't feel surprised, he knew something like this was bound to come up, but so soon? He was only sixteen! "Mother, why is there an engagement so sudden?"

"Black Doom threatened that there was either going to be a marriage or he will declare war. You know as well as I do that we can not afford war right now." Yes, Sonic knew. The war against the Metarex was only two generations before him and the world was still paying for it. That war was the first and only time that all the nations had united and brought the seven chaos emeralds together creating the miracle that saved their planet from utter destruction. Aldiron was the only country that escaped with minimal damage, hence why they are the only current country that can declare war. "Besides," the Queen continued, "a marriage between our countries will prevent any threat of war in the future. We are holding a welcoming ball in three days time and I expect you to represent our country properly."

Sonic nodded, knowing full well what his mother expected of him.

* * *

Standing on the balcony in his room, Sonic was lost in thought. He knew that to protect his country, he will have to follow through with the marriage, and failure was not an option. Two years ago, he would have been totally fine with it, but now, he couldn't help but feel his heart drop every time he thought about the marriage. He had developed feelings for someone else, but now, he would never get the chance to tell him.

Letting out a sigh, Sonic walked back into his room and fell onto the bed. He would talk to Tail's about it later. After all, friends make the best listeners and Tails often gave really good advise.

* * *

Two days later, Sonic found himself running down that familiar path on Mobius that led to Tail's house. He had skipped out on his lessons once again and Dante must be furious by now. Sonic couldn't help but smile when he thought of what Dante's reaction must be right now. It was so easy to make him angry and the young prince couldn't help but push his buttons all the time. Sonic slid to a stop in front of Tail's house and stared in complete surprise when he saw that the whole gang was there, even Shadow. Sonic mentally face-palmed, _why is it the one time I don't want to see him he's here?_

"Hey guys," Sonic said, forcing a smile on his face as he approached the group.

"Sonic! I didn't expect to see you so early!" Tails ran up and hugged his friend.

"Yeah me either," Sonic replied with a laugh. _Well they're all going to find out eventually so I might as well tell them now,_ he thought with a quick glance at the black hedgehog. "Look guys, I have something I need to say." The group quieted down and listened to Sonic intently. "It was just decided that I'm going to married."

"Married!?" they all asked in unison, minus Shadow who kept his casual appearance.

"To who!?" Amy asked outraged. She had dibs on Sonic and she wasn't about to let some wannabe prince have him.

"The prince of Aldiron..." Sonic said as he rubbed the back of his head. At that announcement, Shadow visibly stiffened and took new interest in the conversation. That reaction caught Sonic's attention, _what's up with him?_

"Shadow, you live in Aldiron, do you know who the prince is?" Knuckles asked.

"Never seen him before and I don't care to," Shadow replied coldly as he walked over to the door. "I have to be going." With that Shadow used his chaos control and disappeared.

_Somethings definitely up with him, why's he so upset over this? Could he know something that I don't?_ Sonic thought, staring off in the direction Shadow had gone. "I have to get going, Dante's going to kill me if I don't finish today's lesson. Oh and before I forget, here," Sonic said as he handed over an invitation to Tails. "You're welcome to come to the welcoming ball tomorrow if you're not busy. Amy, Knuckles, I'm sure you guys are already coming so there's no need to give you an invitation. See ya tomorrow bud." Sonic darted from the house before anyone could ask anymore questions. _Too bad I couldn't give one to Shadow, he left so quickly..._

* * *

The next day was the day of the welcoming ball. Of course his mother wanted him dressed as formally as possible but Sonic wanted to settle for his usual red shoes and white gloves. Knowing his mother wouldn't be happy, Sonic also put on his royal blue cape, with the symbol of Vertrose in the middle, that hooked onto one shoulder, as well as his crown.

The ball had started half an hour ago but Sonic wasn't worried since the Prince of Aldiron had yet to show as well. Sonic zipped out of his room and was in the ball room in seconds. The room was decorated in the colors of blue and black, representing the colors of each country. The people around him bowed to show their respect. Sonic just nodded, he hated the way people bowed to him. The blue hedgehog looked around the room and spotted a familiar orange two-tailed fox talking to a pink hedgehog who was dressed in a beautiful, sparkle covered pink gown.

Sonic walked over a gave a bow to Amy, "Good evening Princess Amy."

"Good evening Prince Sonic," she replied with a curtsy. "Late as usual."

"Do you guys really have to do that?" Tail's asked looking between them.

"Considering we are in front of many royals and nobles, yes," Sonic said ignoring Amy's earlier statement and glancing around. "Are the others here as well?"

"Well Knuckles was here earlier but since he's a king he had many people he needed to talk to," Amy said. Sonic looked around the room and spotted Knuckles talking to a purple winged bat who was dressed in tight fitting clothes and wearing blue eyeshadow. _They look like they know each other,_ Sonic thought.

"Well if it isn't Sonic, didn't think you would even show today." Sonic looked in the direction the voice came from and spotted Prince Silver and Queen Blaze making their way over. Although Blaze was one year older than them, she had taken over her country as queen after the previous king and queen died in an horrible accident.

"Ha Ha you're a real comedian," Sonic said as he walked over and shook Silver and Blaze's hands. "I'm glad you guys came, I haven't seen you in ages."

"Well that's what happens when you actually _do_ your work." Silver said with a grin.

"Oh?" Sonic began, "Well you're forgetting to mention that you also—"

"Ladies and gentlemen, introducing tonight's guests of honor." The announcer said to crowed of royals and noblemen. "King Black Doom and Prince..." The announcer's voice was droned out and time seemed to slow down when Sonic saw the person standing next to Black Doom.

Sonic drew in a breath but it seemed like he couldn't get any air. Standing next to Black Doom was a familiar black and red hedgehog, wearing his white and red shoes, signature wrist rings, a black cape with the Aldiron symbol and a silver and black crown. Sonic looked into the deep red eyes of the hedgehog and only one thought came to mind, _Shadow...?_


	3. Chapter 3

Shadow did not spare a glance to his friends but merely kept his eyes forward. Walking across the room, Shadow kept pace with Black Doom and stopped before the queen. "Welcome to the kingdom of Vertrose, King Black Doom," Queen Adella said as she motioned for Sonic to come over. Sonic walked over at the silent order, never taking his eyes off his friend. "I would like to introduce my son, Prince Sonic."

"I would also like to introduce my son, Prince Shadow," Black Doom said in his low baritone voice.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Shadow said to him with a neutral face, as if this whole thing was natural to him.

"Likewise," Sonic replied slowly, wondering if this is the same Shadow that he knew. Everything about the hedgehog was different than what he was familiar with, from the way his stance was straighter to the way his voice spoke such a polite language. Shadow kept looking at him with an indifferent expression and the formaility that was being kept between them was suffocating. Sonic was about to say something about it when his mother spoke up.

"Will you two please excuse us for a bit, we have many things we need to discuss," Queen Adella said dismissively as she looked at the two princes. "Do not let us keep you from your ball." With that the Queen and the King disappeared into the crowd.

"Shadow...So you really are the prince of Aldiron then?" Sonic asked feeling less sure about himself. He had known that Shadow was keeping a secret about the way he lived in Aldiron and Sonic had always been curious to find out what the black hedgehog was hiding, but he would never had guessed that he was hiding the fact he too was a prince.

"I wouldn't be here if I wasn't," Shadow replied coolly. As he looked at the confused hedgehog his eyes softened a bit, losing their cool indifference. Shadow couldn't help but feel slightly bad that Sonic had to find out this way, although he would have preferred it if Sonic hadn't found out at all. Just as Shadow was about to continue their conversation Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Silver and Blaze approached them.

"Shadow how come you never told us you were a prince?!" Tails exclaimed as he drew near.

"I had no reason to," the said hedgehog stated bluntly. "It didn't matter to me whether you knew this or not, it changes nothing."

"Well it changes something now because you and my Sonic are getting married!" Amy said as she seethed. Why did it have to be Shadow? She wasn't stupid, she had seen the longing glances that Sonic use to give to the oblivious hedgehog. What made Shadow so much more interesting than her?

"I guess we are," Shadow said as he smirked at the pink hedgehog's rage. Amy's love for Sonic wasn't a secret and making her angry only seemed to amuse him further.

_That's right, Shadow and I are getting married now._ Sonic couldn't stop the light blush that came to his cheeks at that thought.

"None the less, congratulations you on your engagement." Blaze said formally.

"Yeah I'm glad everything worked out," Tail's said with a wink. Shadow didn't miss the interaction between the two and wondered what motive was behind that sentence. "Come on guys let's go back and enjoy the party, it's not everyday there's a ball."

_Yes there is,_ the royals all thought together.

* * *

It was agreed that until the marriage took place Shadow would be staying in Vertrose. The wedding was in one week and it seemed the entire kingdom was rushing to prepare for it. Sonic had little to do during this time, even Dante was helping with the preparations so his lessons got cancelled for the week. The two hedgehogs princes had begun hanging out more often to entertain themselves and they were currently in Shadow's room.

Shadow was standing by the window looking out into the shadow covered kingdom while Sonic was laying on his bed stacking the pillows like a house of cards. "Do you ever stop acting like an idiot?" Shadow asked, not taking his eyes off the window.

"What, there's nothing to do anyway so why not find something to do?" Sonic replied as he sat back to admire his work. It didn't last long for when Shadow walked over and sat on the bed, the pillows collapsed, burying Sonic beneath them. Sonic pushed the pillows off himself and glared at Shadow who was smirking back at him.

"Hey Shadow, what's it like living in Aldiron?" Sonic asked as he lied back down, falling on top of the mess of pillows.

"It's dark..." Shadow said as he thought. "It's rare to see the sun because dark clouds always cover the sky but it never rains. There's nothing to interesting about the country itself, why do you want to know?"

"No reason." Sonic looked over at the black hedgehog and suddenly had a strong desire to find out how Shadows lips would feel against his. But what if Shadow doesn't feel the same way as him and is only doing this because he had to? During the time they spent together neither of them mention the marriage once and Sonic didn't complain because he was too nervous to find out what Shadow's answer would be.  _Well, might as well find out now._ "Shadow?"

"Hmm?" When Shadow looked over at the blue hedgehog, Sonic took the opportunity to move and meet his lips. The kiss only lasted a few seconds but to Sonic it felt like an eternity. He could feel his heart rate speed up and felt like butterflies were dancing inside his stomach.

When the kiss broke, Sonic looked up into Shadow's eyes expecting to see rejection but instead there was only surprise. Shadow quickly covered his surprise with a neutral expression and, to Sonic own surprise, lean in kissed him again. This time Shadow lightly bit Sonic's lower lip, asking for entrance, and Sonic complied. Shadow's tongue slipped into his mouth and greedily explored the cavern, memorizing each part. They only broke the heated kiss to prevent themselves from passing out from the lack of oxygen.

"You should probably go back to your room, it's getting late," Shadow said to him in between gasps of breath.

"Yeah," Sonic replied also with heavy breath. "I'll see you tomorrow." He got off the bed and quickly left the room, leaving Shadow to figure out what had just happened.

Sonic couldn't sleep that night, every time he thought about the kiss he had with Shadow a blush would appear on his face and his heart rate would once again speed up _. I kissed Shadow and he kissed me back...does this mean he thinks about me the same way?_

* * *

It was the day of the wedding and last minute preparations were being put into place. That morning Sonic found himself woken up before dawn with food shoved into his face by Dante, rehearsing how  _he_  would be the one to walk down the aisle and being put into the ceremonial outfit that he was to wear today. Sonic was currently looking into the mirror at his new outfit. His normal red and white shoes were replaced with plain white shoes with gold soles, his white gloves now contained intricate golden designs, a white and blue cape adorned his back and his golden crown sat on top of his head.

_Wow, I definitely look like a bride..._ Sonic stopped the thought and mentally reprimanded himself.  _Why couldn't Shadow be the bride, it is my country we're in after all._

"Your highness, it's time to go. Are you ready?" a female voice asked from behind the door to his room.

"Yes," with one last look Sonic walked out of his room and followed the maid to the hall where the ceremony will take place. The closer he got, the more nervous he got. He just wanted to go for a quick run but knew that would be impossible since it would ruin his uniform.

As he stood behind the door he heard the music start. In a few short moments, the door will open and he will walk down the aisle were his fiance was waiting. Taking a deep breath, Sonic put a smile on his face, the one he usually wore to conceal the emotions he didn't want to show. The doors were pushed open, and there was Shadow, standing at the alter. His clothing was almost identical to his expect the colors he wore were black and silver.

Sonic's smile changed from from a fake one to a real one when his eyes landed on Shadow. Sonic began to walk forward and saw a two tailed fox out of the corner of his eye that only made him smile more. The room was filled with many people from both Sonic's and Shadow's countries, including the press that were snapping pictures like there was no tomorrow.

The ceremony passed by rather quickly and soon they were at the part that Sonic was most excited for. They had just finished the "I do's" and were finally at the end. "You may now kiss the bride," the priest said.

_This is it I finally get to—_

"Well if it isn't Sonic and Shadow. Having a wedding without inviting me? I feel offended." Every looked at the door and there stood a round man wearing a red coat and black pants.

"Eggman?!"


	4. Chapter 4

The said man smirked at their confusion before continuing, "I have to say, I'm a bit hurt that you didn't invite your once accomplice, Shadow." Eggman put a hand over his heart and mocked a hurt expression. Shadow growled in response and was about to snap a remark back at him but was silenced when Sonic spoke up first.

"What do you want Egghead? We're kind of busy here." Sonic's usual grin had been replaced with an annoyed frown. Seeing Eggman wasn't a rare occurrence when on Mobius, but he didn't expect to see him in Vertrose and much less on  _his_  wedding day.

"Well then, I guess you'll be quite busy with this!" Eggman smashed his hand down on a remote controller and instantly all the windows shattered and doors flew open. Eggman's signature robots burst in from all directions, causing the audience to shriek in fear. Queen Adella immediately stood up from her chair on the upper balcony and started shouting inaudible orders at the nearby guards. Soldiers began attacking the robots, only doing minimal damage, while others began evacuating the spectators.

Sonic sighed heavily as he glanced around at the chaos. Any other day he wouldn't have minded kicking Eggman's ass but today was an important day to him and he didn't have time to deal with him. Sonic briefly wondered where his friends were but he knew they would be OK on their own.

"You take the doctor and I'll finish off the rest of the robots," Shadow said from Sonic's side. Sonic nodded once and took off to the right while Shadow took off to the left. By now Eggman had gotten on his famous egg mobile and was hovering nearby conducting his metal army. Sonic jumped across the tops of the robots—destroying them as he went—to get up to Eggman. Sonic pushed off hard on his last jump, aiming to destroy Eggman's egg mobile, only to be grabbed out of the air by the cape he had still been wearing.

Half-choking Sonic fell back and was grabbed roughly by one of the robots.  _Ugh, why didn't I take it off?_  Sonic attempted to spin his body into a ball to loosen the hold on him but it only caused to robot to grip tighter into a bruising grip. Just as he was getting frustrated the robot exploded and he fell to the ground. Sonic quickly unlatched the cape from his shoulders and threw in somewhere into the chaos of the battle. He glanced around to see what had happened and his eyes met Shadows.

"You seriously tried to fight with that on?" Shadow said. Sonic noticed that Shadow had long since discarded his own cape.

"I forgot to take it off, but hey, I almost made it work," Sonic said as he shot a quick smile at the black hedgehog before taking off toward Eggman again. Sonic zig zagged in-between the robots, stopping only when he reached Eggman. He was about to attack him when Eggman's voice stopped him.

"Sonic, so glad you could finally make it. You see, I have a little friend of mine that would love to play with you," Eggman gave an evil smirk at that last statement. Using the remote controller Eggman steered in a robot he had been holding onto just for his little blue friend. The robot itself was about a hundred feet tall and it's head was threatening to hit the ceiling.

Sonic looked up at the giant robot and had to admit he was a little impressed. Granted, it wasn't the biggest robot he had seen Eggman make but it looked to have had a lot of time put into it. Sonic looked around him to make sure all the spectators had been evacuated by now before looking up at Eggman.

"Bring it on Egghead!"

* * *

-BOOM-

Yet another robot exploded after Shadow had shot it with one of his chaos spears. He had already destroyed countless robots but it looked like none had been destroyed at all. The room was still full of numerous robots and fighting soldiers. Shadow glanced up toward the balcony and noticed that Black Doom hadn't moved since the beginning of the battle. While Queen Adella was trying to organize the mass of soldiers Black Doom continued to sit in his chair, eying the battle.

Shadow narrowed his eyes in suspicion. He knew Black Doom wasn't the kind of person to help people but since Vertrose and Aldiron are now allies he thought he would lend his assistance. The way that Black Doom was watching the battle gave Shadow and uneasy feeling.

His thoughts were interrupted when one of the robots slammed into him, throwing him to the ground and knocking the wind out of him. Shadow rolled onto his side to avoid being crushed by the oncoming robot and pushed himself to his feet. He rushed at the robot, destroying it on impact. Taking the next couple seconds to regain his breath he surveyed his surroundings. The amount of robots looked to be finally depleting and the soldiers were now gaining the upper hand. He was about to head back into the fray when something large and metal caught his attention.

Shadow looked over at the giant robot that was now towering over the exit. Sonic, who was previously keeping it busy, suddenly rushed toward Eggman but was swatted out of the air and sent flying in Shadow direction. Shadow attempted to move out of the way but wasn't quite fast enough and was taken out by the blue hedgehog.

* * *

No matter how many times Sonic hit the robot no damage would appear. He was starting to grow tired of the pointless attacks but then he noticed the remote controller that Eggman was still holding _. That's got to be it!_ Sonic rushed at the robot to make it appear like he was going to attack it but turned at the last second, trying to reach for Eggman's controller. The robot's hand, however, moved just as fast as Sonic did and ended up hitting him from the side, sending him flying through the air.

Sonic's back collided with something soft and surprisingly his landing didn't hurt. He looked down to see what he had landed on and his eyes rested on a slightly dazed Shadow. Sonic blushed and quickly got off.

"Sorry," Sonic said sheepishly as he helped the black hedgehog up. "I just can't seem to get past that robot, I'm sure once I get the controller I can get rid of it."

"Fine, just need to get the controller right?" Shadow replied as he dusted himself off.

"Yeah but what—" Sonic was interrupted when Shadow reached out, grabbed his arm and spun him around, spinning fast enough that Sonic's feet left the floor. The next moment Shadow released Sonic, sending him flying through the air toward Eggman.

"Sonic!" yelled a high pitched voice that belonged to his best friend. Sonic spared a quick glance over and saw a gold ring flying toward him. Sonic smirked and snatched the ring out of the air. Using it's power to propel him faster, Sonic curled his body into a ball and spun at high speeds. He flew right past the robot and through Eggman's egg mobile.

"What?!" Eggman yelled as he quickly lost control of the egg mobile. He hit the buttons on it's control panel, attempting to get it under control, but to no affect. The machine zipped through the room, went through the ceiling and exploded in the air.

Sonic landed, the glow of the ring fading in one hand as the other held the remote controller. Sonic studied it for a moment before experimentally pushing one of it's unlabeled buttons.

"Self destruct initiated, T-minus ten seconds," said a voice from each robot.

"WHAT?! SONIC!" Everyone in the room seemed to yell at him. Sonic jumped at their loud voices before frantically looking for a different button to push. Shadow walked up to Sonic and snatched to controller from his hand, pushing a small button on the side. The robots then powered down and went still. Everyone in the room seemed to breath a sigh of relief.

Sonic looked around and winced once he saw the damage. Robot parts, building debris and shattered glass littered the floor everywhere. The ceiling now contained holes, which were the main source of light since the indoor lights were all destroyed. Even the walls were in such terrible condition that he was surprised they were still standing.

Sonic's shoulders slump when he thought about what a terrible day this had become. He looked over the mess to find his two-tailed friend and waved him over once he saw him. "Hey bud, didn't get hurt or anything?" Sonic asked as he looked Tails over.

"No I'm good, just a bit dirty, but I'll live," Tails replied.

"Well I won't!" screamed a pink hedgehog as she stomped over to them. "I show up in my best dress and look what happened to it." Amy sobbed the last part as she looked down at her ruined outfit. Her once pink and white floor length dress was now ripped and smudged with dirt.

"Nah, you'll be fine. I'm sure you can get it remade," Silver added as he popped out from behind Amy. He too was covered in dirt and his once formal outfit was no more. Sonic looked around the room and saw that the country leaders were conversing over the incident. He was sure that they were discussing what to do about Eggman.

Tails, Amy and Silver were currently arguing over their outfits so Sonic took that opportunity to talk to Shadow. "Uh, sorry about the wedding."

"Don't apologize over something you have no control over," Shadow easily replied as he turned toward him.

"Yeah but since this took place in my country it's kind of my fault. I also feel bad that we couldn't complete the wedding ceremony."

"Then why not complete it now?" Shadow pulled Sonic over to him and captured his lips into a deep kiss.


	5. Chapter 5

Eggman strode confidently into the palace from which he had been summoned. Not more than three hours before had he received a letter demanding his presence in Aldiron. Naturally he thought it was suspicious, considering the chaos he had caused at the prince of Aldiron's wedding, but he wasn't the least bit worried. If this was a trap, then he had one of his own waiting as well. Eggman smirked at that thought.

He was halted in front of two large doors that led to what Eggman suspected was the throne room. Two guards stood on either side of the door, blocking his entrance. Reaching into his pocket and he pulled out a letter that contained the Aldiron seal. "Here on His Majesty's request," Eggman said with forced politeness.

The two guards stepped aside and gestured for him to pass. Eggman nodded his thanks and preceded through the doors. Walking into the throne room, Eggman took a moment to look at the decor. The room was darkly colored, much like most of Aldiron, with a single line of red carpet that led up to the throne, covering a small amount of the stone floor. Large red drapes fell over the edges of the windows, blocking most of the outside light and leaving the room to be lit by the electrical lights lining the black colored walls. Eggman approached the throne that Black Doom was sitting upon and crossed his arms.

"What is it you wish to speak to me about? I am a busy man you know," Eggman didn't have time for small talk so he decided to get right to the point.

Black Doom considered the round man in front of him before speaking. "I have a proposition for you." Black Doom's low voice echoed around the large room.

"Oh, I'm listening," Eggman said, his interest having now been peaked.

"I have been aware of your existence for some time now and have noticed that you have failed every time you have attacked in Mobius," Eggman's eye twitched at the obvious insult but remained quiet. "While you may be a genius, you lack necessary military experience, which I possess. You want the chaos emeralds from the countries and I want to rule them. Join me in my quest and together we can each get what we want."

"Hmm, interesting proposition but how do I know that you won't go back on your word?" Eggman said as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"I have no interest in the emeralds, their power means nothing to me. I can easily acquire power such as theirs on my own," Black Doom stated.

Eggman thought for a moment, judging the truth in Black Dooms words before continuing, "Very well, I'll join you. However, if you go back on you word I won't hesitate to go back on mine."

Black Doom nodded, already having anticipated what he would say. "The only requirement I have in your cooperation is that my son, Shadow, is not to be harmed by your hand."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Eggman said with a smirk.

* * *

It has been two weeks since the wedding and it has mostly passed without any incidents. Although most married couples move in with their spouses, Aldiron and Vertrose still had yet to unite so Shadow was temporarily staying in Vertrose, under the excuse that he had nothing better to do back home and was instead spending time with Sonic.

It was late in the evening, with the sun having set a few hours ago, and the two hedgehogs were heading back to their room. Shadow couldn't help but smirk when he recalled the days events. After breakfast that morning Sonic had taken him to explore the far reaches of the country—since they had already explored every inch of the town—only to get them lost in the mountains. Normally it wouldn't be a problem, considering their speed, but Sonic thought it was wise to get himself stuck in a trench that was  _just_ too high for him to jump out of. Shadow had sat at the top, watching the blue hedgehog struggle for hours before finally deciding to help him. Thus the reason they were late to returning and were three hours past curfew, not that Sonic usually followed it, much to Dante's irritation.

Just as they were walking past the throne room, Sonic's sensitive hearing picked up on a hushed conversation. "Declared war on Normount?!" came an exasperated Queen's voice.

"Yes and he began attacking before my troops had a chance to mobilize, not that it would have mattered," said a gruff voice. "Black Doom's ability of mind control is too powerful to overcome and what little troops I had were taken down instantly."

_Wait, I know that voice..._ Sonic thought as he walked over to the slightly open doors that led to the throne room, dragging Shadow with him. Sonic peaked in through the crack and his eye's rested upon his mother and Knuckles talking intently to each other.

"I was barely able to escape before my palace had become completely overrun," Knuckles continued. "I couldn't do anything to save my people, who knows what he could be doing to my country right now!" Knuckles shouted as he punched the floor angrily, leaving a large dent.

"I understand your frustration, but losing your temper now will only cloud your judgement," the Queen stated in a calm voice.

"I know, but how can I be calm when—"

"Knuckles?" Sonic decided it was now time to reveal himself since he was interested in the conversation. That and Shadow had threatened to throw him in if he didn't go in on his own.

"Sonic...look this isn't a good time right now, it's just that..."

"I know, I heard about your country." At Knuckle's confused look Sonic decided to explain a little further. "I overheard your conversation." Sonic sent Knuckles a sheepish look.

Shadow, who had remained silent until this point, was finally noticed by Knuckles. "You didn't have anything to do with this did you?" Knuckles growled at him, taking a threatening step closer.

"No, I was unaware of this situation until moments ago when you shouted it out for everyone to hear," Shadow said coolly, not backing down from Knuckle's challenge. In truth, he had known something was going on when his attempts to contact his father had been denied since the wedding, but he had no idea it was this serious.  _I should confront my father soon, this is getting a little out of hand..._

Sonic looked sympathetically at his friend, "Look Knuckles, if there's anything we can help with—"

"There's nothing you can do," Knuckles said, cutting Sonic off. 'You're allied to Aldiron, you can't take my side."

"While we can't do anything military wise, you can still stay here as long as you need," Queen Adella said softly.

"Please excuse me," Shadow said abruptly as he turned around and walked out.

"Wait! Shadow!" Sonic yelled as he ran after him. He collided into Shadow who had stopped just outside the throne room doors. Sonic shook his head to clear away the dizziness and took a step back. "Hey, where are you going?"

"I need to speak with my father," Shadow replied, not turning to face him.

"Then let me come with you," Sonic offered.

"No, believe me, it will be better without you there." Shadow took out a glowing red emerald and held in firmly in his hand. "Chaos control!" Once the last word was said, the black hedgehog disappeared.

Sonic stared at the spot where Shadow was once standing.  _Wait, did Shadow have a chaos emerald?_

* * *

Shadow strode purposefully down the hallway that led to the king's office. He had long ago memorized the scheduled his father usually stuck to so finding him wasn't a problem. The only problem Shadow could think of was that he was never good when it came to conversations, especially when it came to his father. They never did see eye to eye and Shadow was sure that Black Doom would kill him if he found out the activities he does on Mobius. He seemed to expect Shadow to be the same as him, but the truth was, he was anything but.

Shadow came to a stop in front of the door, hand held up, ready to knock. He took a deep breath, readying himself for what was to come and knocked. There was a moment of silence before Black Doom's voice came through the door.

"Come in Shadow."

Shadow bit back a growl. Why was it that he always seemed to know where he was?

He opened the door and stepped inside the large office. The room didn't have many decorations and was mostly dark colored.  _Like everything else..._ Shadow thought. Black Doom was seated behind his desk, doing what appeared to be paperwork.

He approached the front of the desk, stopping only a few feet away. "I wish to speak with you regarding the matter of Normount."

When the last word left his mouth Black Doom looked up from his paperwork with a guarded expression. Shadow knew he would have to trend carefully from this point on, since he really didn't want to see what would happened if he lost his father's trust.

"What is it?" Black Doom asked coldly.

"Why did you attack Normount? They were a weak country due the war many years ago but I see no value to Aldiron in attacking them." Shadow was careful not to seem biased toward or against attacking the country, he was stating an observation.

"That is precisely why I attacked them," Black Doom stated. "They  _are_  weak so they pose no threat to me."

"Then what did we gain in attacking them?"

Black Doom seemed to pause for a moment, as if he were studying Shadow to see if he had any hidden motives. "That is something you will learn in due time," was his answer.

_Damn,_  Shadow thought,  _he doesn't seem to trust me._  "Very well then, if you will excuse me." Shadow bowed in respect and walked out. He was sure that he didn't give away anything that would make Black Doom suspicious, so why wouldn't he tell him? Shadow grimaced,  _I'll definitely find out what he's up to._


	6. Chapter 6

King Adkin,

The Imperial Monarchy of Aldiron formally declares war upon the Monarchy and people of Orcrest. This act of aggression has thus been forced upon the Orcrest Monarchy. King Black Doom has authorized and directed the entire military forces of Aldiron to carry out and complete this act of war; and, to bring the Monarchy to a successful termination and to bring under the new leadership of Aldiron.

If it is in the wishes of Orcrest to surrender to the demands set forth in this declaration, a written statement must be turned over the King of Aldiron before sunset on the day of delivery.

King Black Doom

* * *

Shadow returned to Vertrose the next day, only to find a tense atmosphere surrounding the people of the palace. A feeling of confusion fell over him as he made his way to Sonic's room to see if the blue hedgehog was present. The door opened to reveal an empty room; the only sign that Sonic had been here was a neatly scribbled note laying on the book covered desk.

_Hey, I'm heading to Mobius to hang out with Tails for a while, I wasn't sure when you would be back. I'll be back later tonight, see you then!_ -Sonic

Shadow smirked at the note before setting it back down on the desk. Well, while Sonic was on Mobius maybe he could get some much needed sleep. He hadn't slept the entire time he had been in his homeland and the exhaustion was catching up to him. Jumping onto the bed, the comfort and warmth that came from the mattress and blankets drew him into a deep sleep.

* * *

Sonic sighed, putting his hands behind his head as he used them as support to keep his head propped up. The grassy hill beneath him was just large enough to allow him to see Tails without needing to tilt his head down. He was only a few meters away from his friend who was working—as usual—on his blue airplane.

"Hey Tails," Sonic said, knowing it wouldn't disrupt his friend. Sonic always tended to talk to Tails while he worked, so over the years, he learned to multitask easily. He listened to Tails work as he watched the cumulus clouds going by in the sky. It was about four in the afternoon so the clouds were a bright white from reflecting the light of the sun.

"Hmm," he replied as he slid underneath the plane to work on it's bottom. The last time he had flown it, it had sprung a leak and he needed to know where it was coming from before he could fly it again.

"What do you think Black Doom is trying to gain by attacking Normount?" Sonic had been contemplating this question for quite some time now and couldn't think of an answer that would make enough sense. He wanted to ask Shadow but he didn't know when he would return.

"Well, there could be a lot of reasons," Tails replied as he pulled on a few wires to see further in. "For one, maybe he needed...A RING!"

"A ring?" Sonic asked a bit befuddled. "Well, it seems a little overboard to invade a country for a few rings. You seem to get them easily enough, couldn't he have just came to you?"

"What? No, I was talking about a ring that I found up in the plane's engine; it must have accidentally got caught up in there and cut the fuel line." Tails clarified. "What I meant was maybe Aldiron is running out of natural resources so they had no choice but to look for more. As far as I know, Normount is the richest in natural resources."

"Still doesn't seem right, I don't think they even tried to negotiate a trade or anything," Sonic glanced at Tails as he came out from under the plane.

"I didn't say it was the right choice to make, it's just one of the possible reasons for the attack," Tails said as he tossed the shimmering gold ring into the air before catching it again. He set it down next to the rest of his tools so he could grabbed the rubber tube that would serve as his new fuel line. He slid back underneath the plane before continuing, "Another reason could be that maybe Knuckles provoked them first. He never had a tight control on his anger."

Sonic nodded in agreement even though Tails couldn't see him. "That could be but you should have seen Knuckles the other night, it didn't look like he tried to provoke anything. And besides, Knuckles is usually pretty good and keeping control of his anger when it comes to political matters."

"Like I said, just a possibility. You know, what if Black Doom just attacked them because he can?" Tails asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, from what I've seen of him, which isn't a whole lot, he doesn't seem like the kind of person who would help other people. He seems pretty withdrawn and doesn't seem to care about other people." Tails slid out from under the plane again but this time, he was finally finished. Wiping the sweat from his forehead he added, "Now that I fixed the fuel problem, want to take it for a test flight?"

Sonic grinned as he jumped to his feet. "Sure, but I get to be the pilot!" He jumped into the pilot seat before Tails could protest.

Tails sighed in surrender, "Fine, just don't crash it or you'll have to build me a new one." The two-tailed fox jumped into the passenger seat, gripping the seat in a death grip when Sonic slammed down on the gas. "And don't kill me either!"

* * *

It was nearly midnight before Sonic returned to Vertrose, he had gotten distracted by Tails and didn't realize the time until it was really late. He crept silently into his room, as to not disturb the amicable air that had settled over the palace. The lights in the room stayed off since Sonic could see perfectly fine in the dark.

He walked over to the desk and frowned when he saw that the letter he had wrote this morning was still laying on it, seemingly untouched. The paper was then crushed into a small ball and tossed into the garbage can across the room.

He went over to the bed and was about to jump in to go to sleep when the sight before him stopped him. Shadow was fast asleep on the bed, his body was slightly curled around the pillow in his grasp and the usual frown was gone from his face, replaced with a soft, peaceful look.

Sonic grinned as he slid gingerly into bed next to the sleeping hedgehog. This was the first time Sonic had seen him sleep and he had to admit, he looked kind of...cute? Yep, cute definitely described it. Leaning over, he placed a light kiss on Shadow's lips before settling back down to fall asleep.

Shadow smirked before falling back asleep.

* * *

Sonic's consciousness slowly came back as he pulled himself out of his deep sleep. He could feel the warm morning sun on his back—he had forgotten to close the curtains last night—and the gentle scent of strawberries filled his nose. Wait...strawberries?

Opening his eyes, it took a few minutes to clear them of their blurriness, and a mess of pink hair filled his vision.  _What the heck?_ Looking down a little further and he saw Amy snuggling up against him.

"AHHHH! Amy!" Sonic quickly pushed himself away and clumsily fell onto the floor. Using the bed as leverage to pull himself up, he glared at the pink hedgehog.

"Good morning," Amy replied as she stretched and rubbed her eyes. Her hair stuck out in multiple directions as she sat up in the bed.

"What are you doing in my bed?" Sonic asked.

"Well I arrived last night so I thought that I would sleep with you," she said innocently.

"Amy, you can't just sneak into my bed whenever you want!" Sonic exclaimed.

Shadow snapped his eye's open in irritation at the near yelling that was coming from the two hedgehogs. "Why don't you two shut up and go argue somewhere else!" Shadow said as he grabbed the two nearest pillows and threw them, successfully knocking both hedgehogs to the floor.

* * *

"So, why are you here anyway?" Sonic asked as he ate his breakfast. After the incident that morning the three of them had went down to the dinning hall to have breakfast. The hall was empty except for them since everyone else was busy.

Amy's smile dropped instantly once Sonic finished his question and was replaced with a solemn expression. She set her fork down and folded her hands in her lap. "My country received a declaration of war from Aldiron this morning. My father sent me here for protection since it's not likely we will win."

Shadow nearly chocked on his food at the news. Why didn't he foresee that? He used to always know what his father was planning and now he had been caught completely off guard. Black Doom had always been the careful strategist type, so why was he rushing the attacks?  _Well at least she's not blaming me like Knuckles did,_ Shadow thought.

"Sorry, but you're welcome here for as long as you need," Sonic said to her.

"I know, you couldn't get rid of me even if you tried," Amy replied confidently. Sonic smiled as she was beginning to return to her usual self. "Now, how about you take me on a date?" A slightly evil smirk appeared on her face.


	7. Chapter 7

"A date?! But Amy I'm already married!" Sonic said in astonishment. Chancing a quick glance at Shadow, he wanted to see what his reaction was but his features revealed nothing. Shadow merely crossed his arms and continued to watch the pink hedgehog speak.

"I'm well aware of that," Amy replied with a small smirk. "I'm just saying that we should go on a date as  _friends_ ; after all, we haven't hung out in a long time." She watched Sonic calmly, ready to do whatever means necessary to get a day alone with him. Not only had she been upset when she found out that Sonic was to be married to Shadow, but more so on the fact that he didn't seem to mind. She was sure there was something between them and she was secretly determined to make Sonic see her as more than a friend.

"I think you should go too," Shadow said suddenly.

"But Shadow—" Sonic tried to protest but was interrupted by the black hedgehog.

"After all, don't you want to cheer her up? She's been through a lot, just spend the day with her to make her happy. You can make it up to me later," Shadow said the last part with a small smirk playing at the edge of his lips.

Sonic couldn't stop the blush that came to his face as inappropriate thoughts raced through his mind while he tried to figure out what Shadow had meant. After shaking his head to clear the thoughts away—so he could return to the situation at hand—he finally relented. "Fine, one day Amy but I do have matters of my own that I need to attend to as well."

"Alright then, lets head out!" Amy declared, abruptly standing up from her seat and clapping her hands together to get the attention centered on her. Successfully jumping over the table in one soundless leap, she grabbed Sonic's arm and began to drag him ungracefully out of the dinning hall.

"Amy! I can walk on my own!" Sonic's protests began to fade as the hedgehog got dragged further away. Walking over to the window, Shadow could see the silhouette's of Amy and Sonic as they left the palace and headed toward the town. Although he detested the thought of Amy spending the day with Sonic while trying to steal him away, he had other matters to attend to which would be better completed if he was alone. Besides, if Sonic even thought about having an affair with Amy, he would just have to answer to him.

In less than half a second, Shadow had vanished from the window and had already arrived at his and Sonic's room. After locking the door behind him, Shadow sat down at the desk and pulled out a pad of paper and a pencil. Flipping open his phone he dialed a number that he had had for a long time but had never needed to use, until now.

The phone rang twice before a smooth low voice answered.  **"Shadow? Well this is a surprise, what do you need?"**

"I'm calling in a favor," Shadow explained without missing a beat, "I want to know about everything that's going on within the Aldiron monarchy."

* * *

Sonic's arms ached as he was forced to carry all of the bags that now held Amy's newly bought items. It had only been an hour since their "date" started and Amy had already been to just about every store in the town, which if you couldn't tell, added up to a lot of bags. "Don't you usually have people make your clothes? Why are you buying all of these?" Sonic asked wearily.

"It's much more fun this way," Amy explained, glancing over her shoulder to look at her bag carrier, "and besides, what better way to spend time together?" Sonic's sigh went unnoticed by the giddy pink hedgehog as she continued to scope out possible stores that they could still go to. Feeling tired, he insisted on needing a break and pointed out a nearby cafe where they could sit down and eat.

Sonic soon found himself with a cup of coffee in front of him along with a few sugary sweets as a snack. Amy, on the other hand, had a cup of tea and a bowl of mixed fruit that she slowly ate out of.

Amy's silence was a little unusual compared to her normal chatty attitude and the tense aura she was giving off indicated that she was upset about something. Knowing that she was not one to keep quiet about things that bothered her, Sonic only had to wait until Amy could no longer take the silence.

Leaning back into his seat, Sonic took a sip of his coffee when Amy asked, "Have you had sex with Shadow?"

Nearly spitting out the coffee, Sonic had to choke it down as to not spray it all over the pink hedgehog. Coughing a few times to clear his throat and to give him time to suppress the blush that had suddenly appeared on his cheeks, he asked in return, "Why does that matter to you?"

"Answer my question," she demanded.

"Answer mine first," he countered.

"You can't answer a question with a question," Amy stated as she crossed her arms and set her lips into a pout. "But if you must know, I'm just curious at how close you two are since you are  _married_." She put a heavy stress on the last word as if to make her point stronger.

"That has nothing to do with how close we are!" Before Sonic could protest further, their waitress came over to check on them and he had never been more grateful for the distraction.

Once the waitress left, Amy didn't seem to pursue the subject but instead jumped to her feet. "Come on, there are still places I want to go before it gets dark."

She grabbed Sonic's arm as he scrambled to grab all the bags and throw their payment down on the table before he was dragged away.

* * *

Sonic shut his bedroom door behind him and leaned against it, almost as if he was afraid Amy was going to barge in at any moment. He had had enough of the pink hedgehog for one day and he was quickly tiring of her lightly veiled attempts to flirt with him. He didn't miss the way her walked had changed so that her hips would swing back and forth more seductively.

After dropping her off in her own room, Sonic had quickly made his way back to his and shut himself inside. Just after closing his eyes, they snapped back open when he heard talking coming from the other side of the room.

Walking over, Sonic noticed that Shadow was sitting at the desk, talking on his phone. There were pages of quickly scribbled notes scattered on the desk's top, lit only by the small reading light that sat upon it.

Not wanting to bother him Sonic sat down on the bed, trying to pick up parts of the conversation to figure out what he was talking about. Before he could piece anything useful together, Shadow snapped his phone shut and turned abruptly toward him.

"How did you date with Amy go? You don't seem too ecstatic about it," Shadow smirked at the blue hedgehog as he quietly observed him. Sonic could tell that Shadow was fatigued and stressed but was attempting to hide it with light conversation. Even in the short time they had spent together, he was getting surprisingly good at reading the once stoic hedgehog.

Deciding to humor him Sonic replied, "Oh it was fantastic, just how I wanted to spend my day, thank you very much. You know Amy can be very good company when she isn't trying to seduce people."

"So what I'm getting is...you like her company better than mine?" Shadow mocked a hurt expression, "I feel devastated."

Sonic rolled his eyes at Shadow's horrible acting. Deciding to change to a more serious subject he asked, "So who were you talking to just now?"

Shadow waved the question off, "Just some of my contacts."

"Okay let me rephrase my question," Sonic corrected with some annoyance, "what did you learn from your contacts?"

"Oh you know, just someone that is going for total world domination," Shadow stated lazily, "but nothing we can't handle right?"

Sonic couldn't help but laugh at Shadow unusually overconfident attitude.


	8. Chapter 8

"Where is it?!" Black Doom yelled, eyes blazing with furry at the unfortunate messenger that was delivering the most recent war update.

"W-we don't know, Your Majesty," the messenger stuttered. "T-there was no evidence of it's presence in either Normount or Orcrest. We did, however, retrieve the green and yellow chaos emeralds."

"There has to be something. Normount was the original possessor, so they must have records of where it's gone," Black Doom stated, anger lacing his voice. "Search Normount and Orcrest again, and I want results by noon tomorrow. You do not want to see what happens if you fail me."

"O-of course, Your Majesty," the messenger quickly bowed and retreated from the throne room.

Black Doom sighed in frustration. Time was running short. He had to find the power source before June or all of his plans were going to be ruined. It was already the end of April, which meant that he had little over a month to find it.

Not only was his attention taken up by the search for his desired object, but the political issues with his war declaration were taking up most of his time. At least the marriage of Shadow and Prince Sonic was enough to keep Vertrose from actively participating in the war. Vertrose's military power would have been a difficult problem to handle if they had gotten involved.

On top of it all, his contacts recently informed him that Shadow had been doing some private investigating on his own.

Shadow was too inquisitive for his own good, a trait that Black Doom exceedingly hated. If his plans were to succeed, then he would have to prevent Shadow from gaining anymore information.

* * *

"Okay so from what you've told me, your father is searching for the seven chaos emeralds and is planning to use their power to take over the world," Sonic said casually while hanging upside down off of the bed in their room. "Pretty straightforward if you ask me."

"Yes, but that's not all he's looking for," Shadow said, his hands rubbing his wrists irritably. "He's been desperately searching for something else, but I have no idea what it is."

Sonic tilted his head slightly as he watched the black hedgehog continue to rub his wrists. _Haven't seen him do that before, new habit?_ Sonic wondered. "Well he could be looking for some kind of mediator. After all, you, Silver and I are the only ones known to be able to freely use the emeralds without a severe backlash."

Shadow paused a moment as he considered Sonic's train of thought. "Alright, if that were the case then what would be a mediator? The chaos emeralds are an ancient power, you wouldn't be able to use just any object."

"No clue, but we could always ask Knuckles. It was his race that first discovered the emeralds after all." Sonic flipped around, jumped up from the bed and was gone from the room before Shadow could reply.

Shadow simply shook his head at the blue hedgehog's antics and turned his attention onto his sore wrists.

Sonic raced down the halls and glanced into the rooms as he passed them, looking for the red Echidna. He raced by some of the servants, the wind following him nearly topling them.

"Sorry!" Sonic yelled back to them, trying to hide his smirk. He turned back around and nearly collided with a familiar red wall. "Knuckles!" Sonic shouted in surprise as he skidded to a stop just before hitting his friend.

Knuckles raised an eyebrow as the blue hedgehog stopped just centimeters away from him. He hadn't even attempted to move, knowing full well that Sonic would be able to stop in time, unless of course he wanted to meet Knuckles' fist.

"Knuckles, buddy," Sonic said casually, completely ignoring all etiquette and slinging an arm around Knuckles' shoulder. "Just the man I've been looking for. Are you busy right now?"

"Uh," Knuckles began to reply, "not—"

"Good I need to talk to you about something," Sonic took off with Knuckles and pulled him into an unused room.

"Sonic, what—"

"Do you know about an object that could be a mediator for the power of the chaos emeralds?" Sonic blurted out.

Knuckles looked at him skeptically. "Why do you want to know? And shouldn't you already know this, considering it involves your country's history?"

"It does?" Sonic rubbed the back of neck sheepishly. "I kind have been skipping classes lately, you know to visit Tails, and with the war...well lets just say there's no time for make-up lessons right now, so just tell me."

Knuckles sighed. "Fine, have you ever heard of the Master Emerald?"

"Hmm," Sonic thought hard, "I think I remember someone mentioning it, why?"

"It was actually the first emerald ever found by Normount," Knuckles explained, "and it was that emerald that created the seven chaos emeralds. If someone needed a power mediator, this would be what they would need to channel the power, if they knew how to use it of course."

"Perfect," Sonic replied. "But wait, you said this involved my country's history?"

Knuckles resisted the urge to role his eyes. "Yes, even though Normount had been the emeralds original holder, it's procession had been passed to Vertrose because of it's military power."

"So does this mean that Vertrose is holding this Master Emerald?!" Sonic asked excitedly.

"I believe I just said that," Knuckles said.

"Right, thanks Knuckles!" With that Sonic was gone from the room.

* * *

"Ouch!" Shadow grasped his wrists. He had been lost in thought while waiting for Sonic to return, and suddenly it felt as if burning metal was being pressed into his wrists. His ring inhibitors were faintly glowing red, burning his wrists as if the metal was hot. A slight burning sensation had been steadily increasing over the past week but it wasn't until now that it had actually hurt him.

He wanted desperately to take the inhibitors off but knew that it would only hinder him. He was told to never take the inhibitors off unless he need to access his full power. Without them, he would only lose his powers too quickly and would exhaust himself before long.

"Damn," Shadow muttered. Why were the inhibitors burning? It's almost as if they were trying to hold back more power than they could control...

Wait, did that mean his power was increasing? But why wouldn't his father say anything about it? As far as he knew, something like this wasn't supposed to happen. There were too many unanswered questions and Shadow would be damned if he didn't find answers. All he had to do wait for Sonic to get back from talking to Knuckles and he would make his move there.


End file.
